Caster locking attachment



June 24, 1947. F, H, FORBES ET AL 2,422,892

` cAsTER LOCKING ATTACHMENT Filed Aug'. 14, 1944 All s a 11s 3543? *n 36@EPEE/CK P02855 C///eLEs/ uaeefs JNVENTOR.

Patented June 24, 1947 `llbllTESI) IS'f-l'ii'i-I'ES PATENT OFFICEFredcrick'l. '.Foibes, Pasadena, .and 4 Charles Forbes, :Los Angeles,Calif.

'3 Claims.

. il Y 'The present Ainvention .relates -to `locking attachments vfor.casterssuch asfare used onplat- Vform .trucks :used .for movingmerchandise in l-louiltlinga v.yards .and 4on loading .platforms and`wha'r-.ves

`Ihe :trucks or dollies .referred to ordinarilyfare equipped with four.casters .or swivelled Vwheels `with ,the ,result Athat .it is diirlcultlto guide .the trucks. Especially it is true `'that such `trucks arediicult to steeraround-.corners=or into-small spaces andordinarily .itis.necessary to use two men to properly handle Ythe truck. VInsomeinstances a vnumber .of platform Y.trucks Yare .formed into .a train.pulled by a small -tractor or Mpower ,driven vehicle Vand when such atrain is :made up yof .a number 'of trucks 4mounted on -casters -the.train VVis extremely difficult to keep in a straight line. With the`present invention `the above mentionedobjections are obviated.

Generally this .invention consists of an -attaohment that may be readilyattached to anyof thefcommonjformsrof:platforrn trucks, that is, a latchbolt- :engaging .member is secured to the caster and a latch boltassembly attached to the underside of the platform of the truck, thelatch bolt assembly being universal in the sense that `the assembly maybe mounted at either side of the platform in such position that "thelatching bolt operating mechanism (is :readily accessible.

Itis an object of the present inventionto pro- .vide .a caster lockingattachment for-platform .trucks and .the`like` of simpleorm and.construction `which may 'be readily attached andsimply operated.

,therlbiects and advantages will appearlhere- 'ina'ter'fromthe followingdescription and drawings.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of a caster on a platform of a truckshowing a locking attachment mounted on the platform embodying a form ofthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the caster and locking attachment shownin Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 3--3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevational view of the attachment showing thebolt in retracted position;

Fig. 5 is a, fragmentary face View of the bolt engaging rail with thebolt in section; and

Fig. 6 is an end View of the locking attachment.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral I0 designates aportion of the plat- `form -of a :truck and Il designates one of ,thetruck wheels mounted on the truck so that it 4may swivel .through anentire circle. The wheel -i-I lis. rotatably mounted on a bolt l2supported in lbearing balls i9 mounted in a race formed in the undersideof the stationary `base plate I6.

The caster and its associated .parts just described `is ofIconvention-al form and it is Vto be understood that thelpresentinventionis not limited for use with the particular type of castershownbut may -be used with any of the common forms of casters.

'In ytheiornrshowna curved latch `bolt engaging Ymember -is used `whichconsists of Ia curved rail lor -ibandf-Zll, the open rends 2l of whichare secured tothe -legs li-3 of the :caster by means of bolts 22. Thecurvedportion .23 `oi? the rail 2! is eccentric to thepivotal axisoffthe caster and is provided with a notch '24 inthe upper edge loftheirail, thenotch 2id being so located-:that when suchgnotchisengagedby the latching `boltindicated at 25 the caster will be heldsubstantially onrarparallel1line-.with:the sideof the truckbody.Infother words, Vthe caster .will be held `in 'such positiongthatforceappliedto the truck willcause the truck to move directly forward orbackward in -a straight line. It is to be understood that the-.memberattached to thecaster may be made ingdilerent 'formsxto `adapt Vitselfto y.theparticular casterfupon whichathe member is mounted, it -beingonly necessary that the member shall swing into the path of the latchingbolt.

The latch bolt 25 is mounted in a housing 26 which is secured to a`plate 21, the plate being mounted on the under face of the truckplatform by means of bolts 28. The housing 26 is provided with a bore3|] which receives the latch bolt 25, the bore 30 being reduced indiameter as indicated at 3| which receives a rod indicated at 32 formingpart of the latch bolt. The outer end of the rod is provided with asleeve indicated at 33 through which one end of the rod 32 extends andto which the outer end of the sleeve 33 is welded or otherwise secured.In the bore 30 and behind the sleeve 33 is a coiled spring 34, one endof the spring pressing against the sleeve and the other end of thespring pressing against a shoulder 35 formed in the bore 30.

In the form shown the inner end of the rod 32 is bent downwardly to forma handle 36 by means of which the latch bolt may be retracted againstthe pressure of the spring 34. The handle extends between two cam faces38 formed on the housing and which cam faces diverge outwardly from thehandle when the bolt 25 is in extended or engaging position. At the baseof the cam faces 38 are notches 39 which receive the handle 36 ashereinafter described.

The housing is provided with the two cam faces 38 which permit themounting of the locking attachment on the platform of the truck behindthe casters on either side of the truck so that the handle may bereached from the side of the truck and pulled rearwardly and toward theoperator until it engages a notch 39 in the cam face adjacent the sideof the truck upon which the locking mechanism is mounted. No change isrequired in the attachment regardless of which side of the truck theattachment is mounted.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, the latching bolt is in engagementwith the notch 29 in the rail 2D and, as indicated above, when soengaged the truck will travel straight, either backward or forward. Tofree the caster from the locking attachment the handle is pushedradially against the action of the spring and against one of the camfaces until the handle seats itself in the notch 39 and when in suchposition the bolt is retracted from engagement with the band 28 and thecaster is free to swing independently of the locking attachment. It ispointed out that the handle is not pulled on the axial line of the latchbolt but is swung radially against the cam face, thereby exerting agreater retracting force than when pulled in a straight line.

When it is desired to lock the caster against swivellingr movement, thehandle 36 is released from the notch 39 and due to the action of thespring 34 the bolt moves into engaging position. This can be doneregardless of the position of the caster and the rail 20 thereon, as forinstance, the rail may be in the position shown in dotted lines at 201in Fig. 2, in which case when the truck is manipulated to straighten thewheels the end of the latch bolt will ride on the curved face of therail until the bolt engages in the notch 24.

It is to be understood that when the latch is retracted into theposition shown in Fig. 4 the swivel may make a free complete circularmovement.

Although one form of the invention has been particularly shown anddescribed, it is contemplated that various changes and modifications canbe made without departing from the scope of the invention and it isintended to cover such changes and modiiications as come within thescope of the claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A caster locking attachment for casters having a latch receivingmember comprising: a latch housing; a latch bolt slidably mounted in abore in said housing; said latch bolt comprising a rod a sleeve securedat its outer end to the outer end of the rod; a coiled spring in saidbore between a shoulder in said bore and the inner end of said sleeve;said rod having its inner end bent radially of the axis of the bolt tcform a handle; and angularly disposed cam faces on said housingdiverging outwardly from said latch bolt engageable by said handle andeach having a handle receiving notch formed therein.

2. A caster locking attachment for casters having a latch receivingmember comprising: a latch housing; a latch bolt slidably mounted in abore in said housing, said latch bolt comprising a rod, and a sleevesecured at its outer end to the outer end of the rod; a coiled spring insaid bore between a shoulder in said bore and the inner end of saidsleeve; said rod having its inner end bent radially of the axis of thebolt to form a handle; and an angularly disposed cam face on saidhousing diverging outwardly from said latch bolt engageable by saidhandle and having a handle receiving notch formed therein.

Y 3. In anti-swivel means for a caster having a caster wheel supportingframe mounted for rotation about a vertical axis and adapted to supportthe caster wheel with its horizontal axis of rotation to one side ofsaid vertical axis, a plate mounted on said frame and presenting anarcuate section outwardly of said frame opposite said caster wheel, saidarcuate section being eccentrically disposed with relation to saidvertical axis and having a recess for the reception of a locking bolt.

FREDERICK H. FORBES. CHARLES F. FORBES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,675,033 Lefkovityz et al. June26, 1928 1,633,638 Jarvis et al June 28, 1927 1,723,007 Bittorf .l Aug.6, 1929 1,985,363 Courtney Dec. 25, 1934 2,251,567 Gould et al Aug. 5,1941

